Hailed as a great feat of engineering at the time of its construction, the building is now considered dated and out-classed by newly constructed sporting facilities nearby.

It is now used for entertainment events and sporting competitions, like table tennis.

The two facilities have very similar names in Chinese – the Shanghai Indoor Stadium is literally called a "Sports Arena" (体育馆) while the Shanghai Stadium is called a "Sports Field" (体育场) – while in English their names differ only by the addition of "Indoor".

This poor translation has been a source of confusion, especially after the opening of Shanghai Metro Line 4 with adjacent stations of these names.

Media related to Shanghai Indoor Stadium at Wikimedia Commons